Introduction to Suriname

The Republic of Suriname is located on the Northeastern Coast of South America, between 2°-6° Northern latitude and 54°-58° Western longitude. The land surface is about 164.000 km2, of which 90% is classified as tropical rainforest. The country borders the Atlantic Ocean in the North, the Federative Republic of Brazil in the South, Department du France in the East, and the Cooperative Republic of Guyana in the West. The main rivers Marowijne and Corantijn, historically establish the borders in the east and west respectively, and in the south the watershed between the Amazon basin and the basins of the Suriname rivers. As such, Suriname takes a central position within the Guiana Shield, which stretches out from the Amazon mouth in the East all the way to Orinoco in the West. The capital of the country is Paramaribo, and is situated on the left bank of the Suriname River.

The largest portion (about 80%) of the total land surface is part of the deeply weathered and eroded Precambrian Guiana Shield, consisting of crystalline basalt basement complex. This part of the country, also called “hinterland”, is undulating, hilly and mountainous, varying in height from 50 to 1230 meters above the mean sea level. The relatively thin topsoil layer, under-laid by granitoid rocks complex, varies in thickness from less than 1 meter on the slopes of hills and mountains to some meters in the valleys. The soil consists of coarse sandy loam to sandy clays intersected by coarse sand, sandstones and gravel. The area is well drained and covered for about 90% with tropical forest. In the northern direction, the Cover Landscape or Savanna Belt is found, ranging in height from 10 to 50 meters above the mean sea level. The soil of this belt consists of bleached and unbleached sand and is infertile. Lower downstream this belt the Old and young coastal plains are found deposited on the top of the Precambrian bedrock in the periods Pleistocene and Holocene respectively.

The Young Coastal Plain borders the Atlantic Ocean in the north and the Old Coastal plain in the south, having soil types ranging from sand (shell), clay (ripened and unripe) to peat. Along the coastline and estuaries, where alluvial sediments have been deposited, large tracts of mangrove forest are found. Going land inward the alluvial deposits are gradually thinned out and become confined in narrow zones and isolated patches in present river valleys, at heights ranging from 1-4 meters above mean sea level. The extensive marine clays of the young coastal plain, intersected by narrow sand and shell ridges, comprises brackish to fresh water swamps with floating peat layers up to 2 meters thick. Near the coast, the clay may have a thickness up to 25 meters. The Old Coastal Plain, found between the Young Coastal Plain and the Savanna Belt, lies about 2-10 meters above the mean sea level. The northern part of the Old Coastal Plain consists of eroded sand ridges, while the rest is a dissected plain of silt loams and silt clays, having moderate to poor fertility. At several places along the main rivers south of the Old Coastal Plain, sandy to clayey river deposits, locally underlain by gravel are found in terraces at elevation 4-20 meters above the mean sea level.

The climate of Suriname is tropical, humid and warm, with daily average temperatures between 260 and 290C, whilst the average variation of the daily temperature ranges between 70-80C. The annual average temperature for the capital Paramaribo is about 270C with the lowest occurring in January (on average 26 º C) and the highest in October (on average 31º C), which is also the warmest month of the year. However, it should be noted that a rising trend of temperature has been observed for the capital Paramaribo, which is equal to about 0.6oC over the last 30 years. Based on existing rainfall data two rainfall seasons can be distinguished throughout a year, of which the shorter one is rather irregular and sometimes hardly occurs. About 50% of the annual rainfall occurs during the four month long wet season, lasting from April to mid August, and about 20% in the short wet season during December and January. The remaining annual rainfall occurs in the short dry period, February-March, and the long dry period from mid August–December. Extreme dry periods occur during those years when the short rain period does not occur or is extremely short (less than a month). In these cases the dry periods are combined lasting for 6-7 months. In most cases the El Nino events coincide with the extreme droughts in Suriname exacerbating the entire situation in the country. The average rainfall at Paramaribo, taken generally as the representative value for the country is about 2,200 mm.

There is a notable variation within the territory which can be distinguished as 1,500–1,750 mm in the coastal strip, 1,750–2,000 mm in the north western part of the country, 2,000–2,250 mm in the north and west of Suriname, 2,250–2,500 mm in the southeast Suriname, and 2,500–3,000 mm in the central part of Suriname. These variations are due to the geography of the central part of the hinterland. Evaporation in Suriname is relatively high with a mean monthly average of about 142 mm and a mean annual of 1700 mm. Maximum evaporation corresponds with the dry seasons of the year. The mean wind speed is 1.3 Beaufort with a maximum occurring during short and long dry seasons (1.6 Beaufort). At the coast the wind speed is 3-4 Beaufort during the day, becoming gradually mild during the nocturnal hours in the interior.

The total population of Suriname is about 450.000, with the largest concentration (70%) residing in the capital-city Paramaribo. Suriname is comprised for about 98% of descendants from Africa, Asia (India, Indonesia and China), and Europe. Initially brought in as slaves and indentured labor to run the plantation-based production system during the early phases of Dutch colonial rule. The original inhabitants, the Amerindians, presently comprise about two percent of the total population. Together with the descendants of slaves (Maroons), they form the inhabitants of the country’s hinterland. In the coastal zone the main ethnic groups are the Hindustanis (descendents from India) and the Creoles (descendents from Africa and those of mixed blood), followed by the Javanese (descendents from Indonesia), and the Chinese (descendants from China).